It’s time for Michael Jackson to take his own advice and beat it. As the boy-band craze has faded out, one man has persevered through rocky celebrity relationships and incompetent background singers.

With “real” female rockers — or are they seventh-grade poets who have read a little too much Emily Dickinson? — such as Michelle Branch and Avril Lavigne, and soccer mom-friendly pop punkers like Sum 41 and Simple Plan making a play for the “Total Request Live” crowd, it’s good to know one man remains near the top of the charts.

And in 2001, when Jackson redefined “invincible” to mean “irrelevant,” one man proved he deserved to be a celebrity.

That man, of course, is Justin Timberlake.

Naysayers will use Jackson’s classic solo material as evidence of his rightful place as the King of Pop. The key word here is “classic.” The last time Jackson made music that mattered was probably right before the first shipment of replacement noses arrived.

The success of 1992’s “Dangerous” depended almost entirely on Jackson’s star power. Of course, the lesser-quality material is understandable. Finding an adhesive that won’t damage sensitive nasal skin but will withstand the paws of a monkey in diapers is time-consuming.

Unlike Jackson, Timberlake has grown with his fans and ditched extra weight — and you thought Joey Fat-One was just a clever name.

Really, there are three prerequisites to arriving at and maintaining pop monarch status:

1. Don’t be scary. It’s important to be larger than life, but not like Godzilla is larger than life.

It’s one thing to shoot a video in which you transform into a werewolf — “Thriller” is a groundbreaking short film music video. But it’s another thing to become a monster in real life. Jackson will be haunted forever by the child molestation accusation he settled out of court.

Timberlake, on the other hand, has avoided these entanglements while living up the pop star life. He courts the biggest of pop divas — Britney Spears — and then has the strength to ditch her. Timberlake is rumored to have even hooked up with Jackson’s sister — quite a coup for the aspiring and deserving King of Pop.

And the only fake thing about Timberlake is his ex-girlfriend’s chest. All Jackson can claim is that Elvis’ daughter dumped him. Ouch.

2. Don’t be the guy who’s trying to fit in. The King of Pop should be defining and cultivating pop music rather than letting it define him.

Jackson blames lack of promotion from Sony and racism inherent in the industry for the dismal failure of “Invincible,” as well as for the long delay of his Sept. 11 benefit track.

The truth is, stale beats, clich‚d vocals and an ill-advised rap culled from the late Notorious B.I.G. are what killed the album.

The album seems like it was made by your best friend’s dorky dad who bought Nickleback albums when he saw them on VH1 and thought he’d impress his kid’s friends with his hipness.

Jackson recently turned to Murder Inc’s Irv Gotti for possible production help, but a quick look at Gotti’s recent artists — Ja Rule, Fat Joe and Ashanti — reveals music that is mere imitation.

On his new album, “Justified,” Timberlake teams up with the Neptunes, groundbreaking beat producers who dropped the innovative “In Search Of… ” under the moniker N.E.R.D. earlier this year.

Timberlake’s new material is partially a modern spin on Michael Jackson’s earlier work, but it doesn’t sound forced or entirely ripped. With 2001’s single, “Pop,” Timberlake showed he is willing to draw on the best of dance and pop and make it his own.

And who can deny the beat box skills he introduced on the track? Jackson should take note and realize that he can grab his crotch and scream only so many times.

3. Innovative dancing is essential. The King of Pop can’t survive on decades-old moves.

Jackson’s brief and ominously silent appearance during ‘N Sync’s 2001 performance at the MTV Video Music Awards could have been his entr‚e into renewed pop dominance among a new audience. Instead, it showed how little Jackson has evolved. Pulling out the Moonwalk and other classic moves is fine for Vegas shows, but the latest MTV generation needs something exciting.

And Timberlake’s recent stutter-stepping, automaton-like funk of an MTV Music Video Awards performance was mind-blowingly original while paying tribute to Jackson’s influence in costume.

Obviously, any pop aficionado can see that it is time for the so-called King of Pop to look at the man in the mirror, save face before things get too bad and concede the throne.

Christian Dahlager

is a senior in journalism and mass communication and sociology from Cottage Grove, Minn. He is a design editor for the Daily.